Thursday, 14 May 2020 / Published in Wimbledon Channel

Volleys Are Worse In 2020 Than 2000. Here’s Your Free Lesson.

G’day,

Everything to do with volleys – from technique to tactics – has deteriorated over the past 20 years. Everything.

We like to think improvement is linear. We should be getting better over time. Nice theory. Not always on the mark in tennis.

Take volleys, for example. Doesn’t it feel like a greater percentage of the tennis population were more proficient with their volley technique and tactics in 2000 than in 2020? A 20-year decline in net play has happened right before our eyes. It has happened like erosion – a gradual destruction of a concrete foundation element of our sport.

Consider this:

MEN: Wimbledon Serve & Volley Points Played

2002 = 33%
2018 = 7%

Now that’s erosion on the scale of the Grand Canyon! 🏜

Men ranked in the Top 20 in 2000 that exuded supreme confidence at the net were:

Pete Sampras
Todd Martin
Richard Krajicek
Tim Henman
Greg Rusedski
Cedric Pioline
Patrick Rafter
Mark Philippoussis.

There are eight guys who had zero fear coming forward.

Love coming forward to finish points?
The entire course, Short Ball Hunter, is focused on net play.

Who in today’s Top 20 could hold their own on that list?

Roger Federer is a given. The jury is out on the rest. I am not saying the other 19 “can’t volley”, but they don’t have the same comfort level and confidence at the net as the eight players mentioned above from 2000.

This is not a discussion about the surface, or the balls, or the rackets, or different eras. The two focus points are technique and tactics.

Going to the net was still a legitimate strategy around the millennium all over the world. Juniors and adults were taught how to hit volleys in lessons. By 2020, that’s fallen by the side of the road. Power forehands and backhands have pushed volley technique to the curb.

This blog post is a FREE volley video technique lesson that I did on the Wimbledon Channel in 2019. Want to improve your volleys? Watch the video below! 😁

Craig O’Shannessy: Wimbledon Channel Volley Technique Analysis

What do these 10 great volleyers have in common?

Pat Cash
Stefan Edberg
Martina Navratilova
Pete Sampras
Tim Henman
Jana Novotna
Boris Becker
Roger Federer
Tony Roche
Rod Laver

Watch Webinar 6: Net Strategy & Patterns.
Let’s improve at the front of the court!

ANSWER – They all have a one-handed backhand from the back of the court, which helps them hit better volleys because their left hand is far more active & involved in their backhand groundstroke – which is the same as what needs to happen for backhand volleys.

Role of the opposite hand on the throat of the racket.

Adjust the grip to locate the continental grip (hand on top of the racket).
The grip adjustment is done with the opposite hand – not the hand on the grip.
Get the racket out in front, away from the body.
Hold the weight of the racket in between shots.
Maneuver the racket.
Click the grip after it slips from making contact with the ball.

Remember these two volley catch-phrases…

“Click it and schtick it.”

“Pop it and schtop it.”

Forehand volley. Elbow = bent to bent.
Backhand volley. Elbow = bent to straight.
The racket face needs to be slightly kicked open in the ready position.
The general premise of the volley is a “catch”.

Player Profile

3:33 Roger Federer – low, softer volley back behind.

5:07 Ash Barty – Eight ways to force an error.

7:25 Kyle Edmund – touch short angle forehand volley.

8:20 Tatiana Maria – return approach and volley.

8:30 Nick Kyrgios – drop shot and volley.

Now get to the net and show the world your amazing new volleys.

Best,

Craig

Webinar 30: Volley & Overhead Technique
Learn the keys to being technically competent at the net.

The practice court is clearly broken. Here’s the proof.

Points are "front loaded". By far the majority of the action, and the winning, takes place in THE FIRST 4 SHOTS. The practice court is full of long rallies. Matches are dominated by short rallies. There is a massive disconnect occurring.

We spend too much time grinding, banging balls up and down the middle of the court – that have no real benefit to winning tennis matches.

There are 3 specific rally lengths in tennis. Here is their percentage breakdown of total points.

0-4 Shots = 70%
5-8 Shots = 20%
9+ Shots = 10%

The First 4 Shots is specifically the serve, return, Serve +1 groundstroke and Return +1 groundstroke. Those are normally the shots that get practiced the least, but matter the most to winning tennis matches.

The net is an extremely high percentage place to be!

If you love playing tennis for fun, spend as much time at the baseline as you like. But if you compete – if the score matters – then you must turn your attention to the net to maximize your potential.

The “herd mentality” in tennis thinks it’s too tough to approach the net in today’s game. The conversation starts with improved string technology, more powerful rackets, and finishes with stronger, faster athletes. The herd think approaching is a relic of the past. The herd is WRONG!

AVERAGE WIN %
Baseline = 46%
Net = 66%

Data from ALL Grand Slams provides the facts about approach and volley, and the data is crystal clear – it’s immensely better than staying back at the baseline, grinding for a living.

The baseline is a tough place to create separation. Here's how to do it.

At the 2012 US Open, only 7 men and 14 women had a winning percentage from the baseline. At Wimbledon 2016, Andy Murray won the title only winning 52% of his baseline points - and he is one of the very best at it in the world!

Num3ers deeply explores the data that rules points, especially from the back of the court. Take a "deep dive" into all three rally lengths (0-4, 5-8, 9+), and winner and errors totals from the elite level of our game. The numbers will shock you!

All 4 Grand Slams

Forcing Errors = 41% Men / 37% Women
Winners = 32% Men / 29% Women
Unforced Errors = 27% Men / 34% Women

Num3ers is very much like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. It's about bringing together different data sets together to create the big picture.

Every recorded match from the 2015 Australian Open - Rd2 to the final.

There is a lot happening on a doubles court. Situations and strategies are constantly being adjusted to create mis-matches with court position. It's hard to keep track of - until now. Dou8les Num3ers is the most comprehensive analysis of doubles data in our sport. The focus is on how a point ends, and it's broken down eight ways to Sunday. Specifically, you find critical information on:

Winners rise to the #1 way a point ends (over forced & unforced errors)

- The last shot of the rally is overwhelmingly struck at the net.
- Center Window: the most important part of a doubles court to control.
- Stephen Huss: an in-depth interview on Wimbledon's Centre Court with the 2005 Wimbledon Doubles Champion.

Dou8les Num3ers leaves no stone unturned. Percentage breakdowns of how often the server or receiver hits the last shot highlight the dramatic influence of the serve. The last shot of the rally is significant, and is broken down into the following categories: volleys, overheads, passing shots, lobs and groundstrokes.

When you play a match, you actually play two matches.

When you walk out onto a tennis court, there are two matches that you are about to play. The first is during the point - a part of the match that you have spent a lot of time preparing for on the practice court. But there is a second match, that takes place in the 20 seconds between the points. This is where the mental and emotional aspects of our sport kick in.

Let's face it, there will be adversity in almost every tennis match that you play. The storm clouds are coming. How bug they are, and how long they last for, are up to you.

Between the points is very tennis specific. It provides a roadmap for the 20 seconds between the points, teaching how to handle the adversity that will surely come, and how to build on the successes that will also be present. Your mind is your biggest asset in a match, and Between the Points takes your hand off the self destruct button and stops you beating yourself.

You don't have to be good at everything, but you have got to be good at something.

You can break tennis down into four key elements - serving, returning, rallying and approaching. Each part has specific patterns of play that consistently deliver higher winning percentages than the others. No more guessing. No more opinions. All facets of our sport are covered in this exceptional product, clearly outlining what patterns to gravitate to, and how to best construct the practice court. Data comes primarily from the 2015 Australian Open.

Building Blocks

MEN = 70% errors / 30% winners
WOMEN = 74% errors / 26% winners

Forcing errors is the best way to construct a point.
You can simply break tennis down into primary and secondary patterns of play - and they are all covered here. Primary patterns include serve and return direction, forehands v backhands, and the best way to approach the net. Secondary patterns include drop shots, serve & volley and 1st volley options. If you play tournaments, this product will greatly help you simplify the singles court.

The conversation starts & ends with the Center Window.

The doubles court is like an hourglass. There are two big ends, but a small neck in the middle where all the action happens. Once you learn the power of the Center Window, where you stand to start the point will take on a lot more significance.

Doubles is a lot more about situations, with four people on the court all "dancing" with one another. Learn all the best doubles patterns, broken down for the server, returner, server's partner and the returner's partner.

Doubles Situations

The "J" - the most ideal movement for the returner's partner to attack the net.

The "V" - a better way of understanding where the server's partner should move to.

Volley Targets - there are four main areas to attack. Know which ones are higher percentage. Beach Volleyball - the idea of a "setter" and "spiker" is ideal for the doubles court.

There are certain parts of the court that the ball travels to a lot, and other low percentage areas that you really don't want to cover at all - like the alley! In general, the serving team wants to keep the ball in the middle of the court as much as possible (to help the server's partner), while the returning team benefits from hitting wider and creating more chaos in the point.

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Volleys Are Worse In 2020 Than 2000. Here’s Your Free Lesson.

G’day,